EVENTING NATION

A cool, damp saturday morning must be, I imagine, almost perfect conditions in which to run a half-marathon, but as I can barely run a yard I wouldn't dare venture to say. However I can't think of more scenic surroundings to torture oneself in than Keeneland Racecourse, especially at this time of year with all the blossoms on the trees, and marvelous colours. Above, are Jake and Jester,  the only horses we saw this morning. Below, are the runners - congratulations to them all, I have the utmost respect and admiration, and if I'm honest, envy! I would love to be a runner, I wish I could do it and enjoyed it; I can happily walk all day, even quite briskly, especially if there are dogs and cross country jumps involved but seem to be terminally one-paced!

I'm fascinated that just like event horses, runners come in all shapes, ages and sizes, and have incredibly varying gaits ranging from smooth, efficient and athletic to well, we were standing near the finish, maybe that had something to do with the hobbling, limping, twisted strides we saw on some of them!

Just as varied as the gaits is the choice of apparel

You can express yourself via logos on your top, or a cap; long socks were popular.

Of course there was a ton of support for the Big Blue Nation today (Go Cats!)

Some people listened to headphones, others were just "in the zone". Harry, my son, entertained himself by seeing how many runners he could get to "high five" him as they went by - in about half an hour he counted over a dozen; many thanks to those competitors who made his day.

This lady's kids were next to us cheering her on proudly and enthusiastically,"Come on, Mum, you made it, you did it, Go Mum!" it was a very sweet moment!

There's always one!

This poor girl threw up about two seconds later. Whereas I spent the rest of the day berating myself for not being a "proper" journalist and turning away from the money shot (!), I just couldn't do it, poor Harry saw the whole thing and was half horrified half exhilarated and was boasting to everyone he saw thereafter that he saw a real person real vomit! She did go on to finish the race.

Toe shoes!

We saw leg warmers, arm warmers, gloves, all sorts of stop watches, GPS, ipods, etc I do like the gadgets and accessories, and just general "kit"

Our favourite, of course!

Congatulations again to everyone who took part, it was certainly an inspiration to watch you. Go running, and Go Eventing!

Three Chimney's Farm, a picturesque horse farm just outside Lexington was where hoops and horses came together to make history Friday morning. The winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Florida Derby and the Haskell, indeed a winner in seven out of eight career starts, Big Brown presided over a ceremony  to celebrate what's being dubbed the biggest sporting event in the history of the Commonwealth -  the showdown between Lexington and Louisville on Saturday night. Starting immediately, and for the duration of the weekend, it is now officially "Big Blue Day", and Mayor Jim Gray of Lexington held a special press conference outside Big Brown's stall to make the proclamation. Fans are encouraged to wear blue and white, and Big Brown's name has been officially changed to Big Blue for the rest of the week.  Tonight in "Blue Orleans", Lexington's beloved UK (that's University of Kentucky) Wildcats basketball team will face archrivals, the neighbouring Louisville Cardinals in the semi-finals of the NCAA Championships. Police already have emergency protocol in place to deal with the "celebrations" here in Lexington should we win to try and quell some of the rioting that is expected.

Case Clay, President of Three Chimneys, went to college (Auburn) with good friend and fellow Lexington native Cougar Town actor Josh Hopkins, and in a recent twitter exchange it was UK fan Josh's idea to rename Big Blue, and Case admitted "so we sort of ran with it".  Big Brown Blue seemed to love all the attention he received , and Sandy Hatfield, Stallion Manager, confirmed that on the barn tours which Three Chimneys run five days a week he positively laps up the attention, and loves to have his picture taken.  Big Blue looks fantastic still, and in a nod to the Big Blue fever, Case explained that the white patch just above his left elbow, the spot they liked to call his "go faster button" or "turbo patch" had been painted blue with hypoallergenic shampoo.  Case shared that they used to joke that the jockeys would press that when they wanted Big Blue to accelerate past the other horses and win races.

Big Blue also wore a specially-comissioned blue (durr!) head collar which will be auctioned off, along with a lock of his mane and some additional Three Chimneys Memorabilia to benefit the UK Children's Hospital, as well as a second, everyday brown halter with the Big Blue name which will also be sold to the second-highest bidder.

Although I must admit to still being a bit bemused as to all the fuss about the basketball, it was a real treat to spend some time out at Three Chimneys. Like all the big horse farms here, it was absolutely immaculate and breathtakingly beautiful at this time of year with all the blossoms out on the trees The stallions in the barn seemed so happy and relaxed, barely paying us any attention and of course they're all fantastic examples too, and each so different, it's fascinating just to get a look at them.

Many thanks to Three Chimneys and the staff in the Stallion Barn, especially Luis who looks after Big Brown, but was too shy to talk to me , and to Sandy who shared that she's looking forward to Silver Charm, who's completely white now, returning to the farm when he completes his duties in Japan because she's always had a soft spot for him. Congratulations to Jim Gray and Case Clay on the Big Blue Nation making the Final Four and to them for finding a way to combine two of Lexington's finest athletes, let's hope the Wildcats can go all the way and that the celebrations will be memorable and safe. Go Cats and Go Eventing!